An Unhinged Nightmare
by THEanimeGIRLvasu
Summary: As the adventures of SPR continue, they are now tackling a case, like no other! The spirit feeds on thoughts and dreams of the dweller, mentally destorying their victim.Will SPR be able to make it through this one? Will they give up? Will someone leave them? Will someone new arraive at the scene? Will SPR be able to survive, An Unhinnged Nightmare!
1. The beginning of the Dream

Unhinged Nightmare

-A 'Ghost Hunt' Fan Fiction

Chapter 1

The Beginning of the Dream

…

_Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick_

_Rrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnggggggg_

'_The school bell for the second last period just went off. OH CRAAAAPPP!IT'S THE LAST PERIOD!Guess I can't escape my fate'_. Acting as if she didn't have the slightest care in the world, our 16-year-old every day average phycic ghost hunter, Mai Taniyama slumped back in her chair and started staring at the ceiling of her classroom like a person who is experiencing the worst day of their life. Like in all cases, she was.

"Hey Mai! Did you study for this period's physics test? Shoko sensei said it's going to be hard. " asked Keiko, her friend from junior high.

"Tell me about it…. I HAVEN'T TOUCHED MY BOOKS SINCE 3 DAYS AFTER WE RETURNED FROM THAT MESSED UP HOKKAIDO CASE! I was so exhausted that I couldn't even think of opening my daily newspaper, for that matter."

Mai started to explain her experiences during her last case, "Me, Naru and the rest of the S.P.R. had to go to Hokkaido for a case where the people reportedthat they had seen an abundance of spirits and all related stuff, in a famous restraunt. It took 3 weeks to investigate, and in the and it turned out to be a sight bound spirit who was killed in the area where the restraunt was built and it turned out to be that, the current 'restraunt' was actually a 2-star hotel owned by the spirit, until it was cleared out to make way for the restraunt. The owner, which was the spirit, was killed by the landowner because she was not ready to give up her hotel for low price to make way for the restraunt. Her spirit became sight bound because, even after dying she thought that her hotel was still there and the people had yet to break it down, and the urge of protecting it, did not allow her to cross over."

Keiko sighed. '_Mai has become a real pro at this, isn't she…'_ thought the dumbstruck teenager, thinking about how Mai actually became like this. She remembered about the time when they were just normal freshman in high school, and how the sudden appearance of a really handsome, but mysterious 17 year old, turned her friend's life upside down.

Mai was still busy babbling on about their case. Now that was one case which got even the great lord Narcissus, the smartest of them all (Naru), thinking.

That was the reason they couldn't finish the case sooner. It really got the best out the gang. Especially Mai! Each and every night she had those pestering dreams, about the owner lady's past, how she was murdered, some of which genuinely scared her. She'd want to throw up every now and then because of all the gruesome scenes clouding her mind (though in the end she was able to control herself) and she'd faint more often than their infamous spirit medium, Masako! But there was one _very wonderful _advantage of these dreams- because of them, she got to sleep next to Naru! (For her protection, of course. The gang started to worry that the spirit might come after her. )_'Hehe, I can't forget the look on Masako's face when Naru announced that I was going to sleep in his bed for the rest of the case, to everyone in the base! She almost flipped! But of course, nobody knew that while I was sleeping on his bed, he was sleeping on the couch, not the bed. "_the various memories of their previous case made Mai pout as well as giggle, while she narrated more of the remarkable incidents that took place during their case in Hokkaido.

…

Half of the last period was over, but there was no sign of the teacher. Finally, after a few more minutes of waiting Mai's principal entered the class. "Students, I've come to inform you that – "

He was cut off by the sound of the school bell ringing. He sighed and continued, "Okay then, I shall tell you what I was about to tell you now, tomorrow. Please disperse."

Mai jumped out of her desk, and skipped all the way to the Michiru's desk to tell her about her recent case, overly overjoyed by the fact that there was no physics test, little did she know what was waiting for her.

Everyone was just gathering up their belongings, nobody had left the class yet, when the principal came in again. "Mai, somebody is here to pick you up." He said. A chill went down her spine when she saw who entered through her classroom door. He was extremely handsome, beyond any one's wildest imaginations, and had sapphire orbs in place of his eyes. He was cladded in black and when he entered through the door, all the girls squealed in delight. He walked right up to Mai (while the other girls were blushing for no reason, following him with their eyes) and said in his famous monotonous voice, "Mai pack up fast, we've got a case."

**NARU!**

_*Smirk*_

His smirks make her so flustered, that somebody could mistake her face for a tomato "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE NARU!?"

"There is no need to yell, I'm standing right here, I can here you clearly" he said, smirking. "Hey kiddo! I'm here too!". Monk popped up from behind the door and ran right up to me. All the girls squealed again. I dragged those 2 out of my class room so that they don't make a scene (since they both attract too much attention, which is the first and last time I'm admitting that), while everyone continued to disperse, and started the questioning. "You guys! Don't you think you should at least tell me if you're going to show up at my school, and just walk into my classroom, making all the girls blush and squeal, and ask me to pack up as if it's no big thing! Wait- what are you both doing at my school in the first place?

"Isn't it obvious Mai, we're here to pick you up."

_Again._

'_Jeez, I hate it when he uses 'its-obvious' voice on me! No seriously, there could have been more possibilities, right!?'_

She mentally pouted. (Pouting in front of _Naru _would only earn her another one of her boss's famous smirk)

"But why did you both come to pick me up? Wait- **DO YOU THINK I'D GO SOME PLACE OTHER THAN THE OFFICE?** *sniff sniff* do you not have even that much trust *sniff* in me after we have worked together for 1 year already! *sniff sniff*"

She turned into a little ball and slumped down in one corner of the corridor.

"Mai, Stop jumping to conclusions and wasting your time. I thought you had shed off a little bit of your stupidity after working with me, though I guess I was wrong."

"_Why you little imp! Narcissistic, tea-addict, self- proclaimed, jerk!"_

I only growled at him. Saying all the things in my mind would increase my chances of getting fired.

_*Smirk_

"_AARRRGGGHHH! Did he read my mind!? THIS IS ILL-LEGALL TELEPATHY! (wait, phycic abilities don't need a license) Ohhhh….. My thoughts are not safe…."_

While she was busy thinking about useless things, she forgot that she had been staring at her boss's face the whole time.

The Narcissist started again, "Mai, why do you keep staring at me? I now I'm very attractive, and that you cannot keep your eyes off me, but please, don't you have anything better to do?"

"WHY YOU CREEP! YOU MUST BE HELUCINATING IF YOU THINK THAT I WAS STARING AT YOU ALL THIS TIME!" she yelled.

"Hey guys, do you have to fight _now_?" said monk, trying to cool things down. "Kid, this is about a case. We are not going to the office; we are going straight to the client's home. That is why we came to pick you up. We'll drop you to your apartment where you can change and pick up your clothes, and then we'll be off. I'll explain the details in the car." Said Monk.

"Well, ok… I guess…."

"_I wonder what this is about…."_

…

In her apartment, Mai hurriedly changed her clothes, quickly grabbed all the necessities she would need for this case (Naru said it would take them more than a week) and quickly stuffed everything into her medium size suitcase, then ran out her apartment and locked it shut. Then she ran towards Monk's car, where she, Ayako, Masako (_yes she was not going with Naru. Hehehe, seems he has become fed up with her_), Yasu, and Monk were going to use. Naru, Lin and John were going in the van along with all the equipment. She quickly put her luggage in the car's back, then got in and buckled up. Then she shut the door, and they set off.

_(In the car, on their way to their destination)_

Mai, who was now getting more and more curious over the fact that this time they were going straight to the haunting sight, started to fidget and shift uncomfortably, starting to fear the causes of what was happening.

"_Maybe, this time, the case is going to be more difficult to solve. Maybe we will need more time to solve this one. Maybe that is the reason that Naru picked me up from school and we are directly headed to the client's home. I don't have a good feeling about this….."_

_**Mai...**_

_**Mai…**_

_**Mai!**_

"**HUH?" **Mai suddenly snapped back to reality. "You had dozed off. Is something wrong?" asked Ayako Matsuzaki, the 24- year old priestess, who Mai considered as her subordinate mother. In a more worried voice, she asked her once again, "Is something bothering you?" Mentally yelling at herself for dozing off 2 times that day (one time in front of Naru , which earned her a smirk from her handsome, narcissistic, tea-addicted and jerk boss, and the second time that was just now) she replied, "Ayako, I am getting a feeling this one is not going to be easy on us…"

"What do you mean?" asked the worried priestess.

"What I meant was that this case. Why would Naru be going to the sight so early when he just received the case this morning, while I was in school? Normally, he goes the next day, right? Is it going to be worse than the others, and that he needs to start as soon as possible?"

The priestess replied with a comforting smile on her face, "No Mai, he is not going early because he wants to. It was the client. She wanted him to start the journey this day itself as soon as possible."

"Journey? What do you mean by that? Are we going on some conquest or something?" Mai asked inquisitively.

"I wouldn't call it a conquest, though the haunting sight is very far. Do you know how much time it is going to take us to reach there?" replied the Priestess.

"No, how much time _is_ it going to take us?"

"It's a journey of 7 hours. That is of course, _excluding_ the time we will be taking to rest up at some spots."

"**ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! No way! If it **_**is **_**going to take us this long, won't it be a smarter choice to go by an airplane?! What was Naru thinking?!"**

The priestess sighed in defeat. "Mai, do you think that the narcissistic overlord, who apparently is the most intelligent of us all, would make such a decision? Of course this is _also_ the client's decision. They cannot afford air tickets for all of us, so they asked us to come in our cars instead. But they will be sponsoring all the petrol we used up in coming there. We're headed to Osaka." The priestess explained.

"Osaka? Hmmm…. So I guess, _that's_ why we left so early. Well, I guess I doubted Naru there, for a second!" replied the embarrassed Mai. But deep inside she was worried, for what reason, that was unknown. '_I still think something is wrong here. I just can't register that everything is going be okay during this case… May be I'm just overthinking… No, no, no, that can't be… Even Naru says that my intuition is mostly right, 97 % of the times… But what about the rest 3% ... I'm overthinking! There is no way Naru would not see through it, if there even was something to worry about…Should I even dwell on this? ... I don't know what to do…'_

Admist the feelings she was experiencing in her heart, Mai didn't even notice, that she had fallen asleep.

…..

Their adventure has only begun!


	2. Inside the Dream

_**Author's note:**_

Thank you everyone for reading my first chapter, and I hoped you liked it. It _is _my first FanFic, so if you can, please R&R my story if you have time on your hands, and flames and criticisms, are really welcome. After all, it will help me to improve my story, right?

By the way, for those of you who are wondering _when_ the story is taking place, is taking place after Naru came back from England. I hope this helped.

Thank you

* * *

An Unhinged Nightmare

-A 'Ghost Hunt' Fan Fiction

Chapter 2

'Inside the dream'

* * *

Mai found herself floating a space, somewhat unknown to man, that was filled with stars and constellations, and floating bulbs of flickering lights. She knew it was no ordinary dream, but was neither was she awake at the moment, so she couldn't determine her own state of mind. She was just waiting for someone to call her name, or to shake her, to wake her up from her trance. She tried to look for a place to stand on, but found that the space she was currently in was not going to provide her with the luxury of a ground beneath her feet. Since she knew she was going be there for a while, Mai started looking around for _'him'; _the one who always appears in her dreams, and who has always guided her to whatever she needed to know.

Eugene

Naru's dead brother

She started to swim around in the empty space in which she was, and whilst she was staring around at her surroundings in bewilderment, she suddenly spotted a spherical blue orb of some sort, hovering towards her from a certain direction. It approached her, and suddenly, started hovering off to the other direction. In response to her curiosity, Mai decided to follow this magical blue orb. She started swimming off in the space, following it closely, hoping it will be some sort of clue to where she is right now.

The orb led her through various and most abstract and beautiful scenes in the space, almost as if she were an astronaut floating in and out of galaxies in the universe. During her 'floating adventure', she saw some of the most incomprehensible and distorted images on her two sides, just like one would see images from their past or future, while floating through a time rift. Of course, though time rifts don't seem to exist as of yet, she felt as if she were travelling in someone _else's_ memories. As if she is being shown around in someone _else's_ dreams.

Just as she was growing more and more interested in what she was seeing, and what these images actually mean, a familiar voice interrupted her train of thoughts. _"Mai…. I'm glad to see you again. Do you remember me? Are you angry?" _whispered the voice.

"Who is it? Who's there? Where is this voice coming from?" she questioned, looking all around herself to find that mysterious person who had conversed with her just now.

"_I'm right here Mai. Right here. I've always been here, silly. You just never noticed. Look Mai, I'm standing right behind you."_

Mai glanced at her backside, and then fully turned behind her, to reveal the blue orb, that had by now, started shaping up into something. Mai jerked back due to surprise, and watched as the mystic blue orb morphed, and revealed the one person she was looking for all this time.

_Eugene!_

"Nar- oh sorry…. Umm, 'Eugene' was it? Your name, that is. You're Naru's twin brother. I know a lot about you now." She said. She was now starting to feel embarrassed that she had been calling him 'Naru' all this while, till the extent of even blushing when holding his hand, thinking it was Naru. Now that she knew who it actually was, she kind of felt guilty towards Naru, because now, part of what he had said to her did make sense- that she confused Eugene's qualities with his, and was infatuated with him rather than Naru. But you can strike out the second part of that sentence, because no matter how he behaved with her, it wasn't Eugene who she _truly_ liked- it was still Naru.

"_How are you Mai? Since I'm meeting you after a long time now, I would like apologize for keeping the fact from you, that I wasn't Naru. I had my reasons. I thought you weren't meant to be knowing this at the time. Would you forgive me please? I know you got into some emotional trouble with Naru because of me. Not that It's your fault, though. My brother has the habit of shooing off people that truly like him. But he too has his reasons. But in any case, do you think that this floating Spector is worthy of being forgiven?" _he pleaded and politely bowed, like one would expect a Japanese person to, while apologizing to someone.

"Ahh…. I don't know what to say…. It's not your fault Eugene…. And of course I'll forgive you. I know you had your reasons." She said. She now felt kind of happy that all the misunderstandings were cleared between them. It became a little lighter on her now.

Then he said, "_Thank you very much Mai. You are a truly good person. And by the way, there is no need to call me Eugene. You may refer to me simply as 'Gene'. It's the nickname that Noll made for me." _

"Thank you Gene. Well, closing this chapter and keeping it aside, would you mind telling me where I am right now?" She asked.

"_You are now in a state of trance Mai. In your context however, the state you are in right now, is not as simple as it sounds. As for you, being in a state of trance has the same meaning as a clairvoyant trance, meaning that your subconscious is no longer being influenced by your brain. When normal people dream, they dream of things they think about so many times, enough that the brain fits the image of that thing in itself, and shows it to you as a dream when you sleep. In your case, what you are seeing right now is not being controlled by your brain. As a matter of fact, your subconscious self, right now is not connected to brain at all. You are able to see what is being shown to you by a foreign influence." _He explained.

"But how am I able to do this? I know I have had these dreams before too, but I know this one is really different from the ones I have had before. And since the others, like Masako, are much stronger in these things than I am, don't they see the same things? She asked.

"_It is a part of your ability clairvoyance. You are wrong; you've had this type of dream before, but just a few times. Remember the times you saw into the victims past? Those were your clairvoyant trances. The rest were not as powerful dreams, so they were just your normal clairvoyance dreams. You are no longer in your mind, but basically in someone else's. But not literally. What you'll be seeing now will be shown to you by me, so you are not actually in someone else's mind. However it will seem that way to you. Also, you are the only one who possesses the ability to allow a spirit to influence your subconscious self and show you things that you do not know. One more little detail is that you cannot wake up from this dream by yourself, unless the spirit who is using your subconscious self allows you to. Even the medium that is travelling with you does not possess this ability. She is a spirit medium, and can sense and talk to them directly, but not the way we are talking right now. So, make sure you remember the things I'll be showing you in this dream, they'll help you out when the time comes." _He said.

She was astounded. _'Seriously? For how long have I had this kind of ability? Wow… I'd better tell Naru when I wake up.' _She thought. "So Gene, what is it that you wanted to show me? Is it related to our case?"

"_The spirit you'll be dealing with this time is pretty strong. Take a look at these." _He took Mai's hand in his one of his own, and led her further through the rift, and then to a point where she saw bizarre images flash around her. They too were distorted but where slowly starting to become clear. As of now, they were surrounded by a matrix of unveiling scenes, most of which Mai was not even beginning to understand. Eugene pointed to a picture to their left, and said, "_Mai, can you comprehend of what's in this picture?" _

Mai took a glance at the image. "Oh, it's boy I think, about 12 or 13 years old and he's sitting on his bed… crying? Is he crying Gene?"

"_Yes Mai, he is. What else can you observe from the same picture?" _He asked her to observe the picture again. And when she did, she found something, most disturbing. "**Oh my God! **His wr-wri-wrist! There is a bloody handprint on it! But h-how?!" She was dumbfounded when she saw that and when she looked closely again, she saw something even worse, probably something she didn't want to see. There was a window behind the boy's bed, and behind the window, the sickly face of a girl, hung like she was thrashed badly by someone and her face was smashed on the window. Even pieces of her skin had disappeared, and parts of her skull were seen. Her jaw was hanging open, more open than a normal human being's mouth can, and it almost looked like her two jaws were severed open by someone, and were no longer connected. Her hands were also stuck to the window, but her hands were nothing but bones of her skeleton. She looked almost 15 and her appearance- definitely worse than that of a zombie.

Mai became sick after observing this girl from the image, but managed to not throw up. Anyone who would see an image like that wouldn't even be standing on their feet right now. Gene apologized to her, and said, _"I'm really sorry Mai. But you had to see this. Now look at the image next to that. What can you see?" _He asked.

Mai took a glance at the next image. She focused her vision on the hovering image, and said, "Yes, I think I know what that is…. It's a young boy… the same one from the previous picture…. He's lying on a hospital bed with an oxygen mask… and his expression… Wh-Why is he smiling like that Gene? It almost looks creepy…."

"_Good. Well, I won't bother you too much, this is the last and the most important one, tell me what you see in that big picture to your right?" _He motioned to a sepia colored gigantic picture hovering in the distance. He let go of her hand and allowed her to float towards the oncoming image, to get a closer look at it. When the picture finally came in her line of vision, after narrowing her eyes and observing its details, she gaped at it like one would gape at someone's murder scene.

"_Mai, don't be afraid of what's in that picture. Just tell me what you understand from it." _Eugene floated towards her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, as if to coax her.

Mai's eyes started burning up. She couldn't digest the contents of the image in front of her. It was as though someone had reached deep down in her throat and had stolen the voice out of her larynx. She was unable to speak. All she could do was stare at the bizarre image and determine in her mind of what to make of it. She started, in a hesitant voice, "What _is _this Gene? What is…?" Her voice started to rise. "Why is that boy's body buried in the ground, except for his head!? And why is he still smiling like that!? What is wrong with him?! Is he dead Gene? Tell me, is that boy alright!? Who did such a thing to him?! TELL ME GENE! WHAT'S GOING ON!" She had become hysterical by then. She couldn't control her breathing, and was continuously looking back and forth at the image, and then at Eugene, demanding the explanation of the picture in front of her.

Eugene heaved a sigh of hesitation, and said, "_Mai, it is correct that except for his head, his body has been buried underground. Also, if you observe further, you will see that his eyes are also covered with blood." _Mai looked at the picture again, and noticed that the place his eyes should be is completely covered in blood. It looked really gruesome. Fearfully, she whispered, "His eyes… Wh-what happened to his eyes…. It looks almost as if their… m-mi-missing…."

"_Yes Mai, his eyes are no longer in their sockets. However, whether he is dead or not, is not something I know, and even if I did, I wouldn't be allowed to tell you. Please calm down Mai. I know that if this is done to him by someone else, it is truly the cruelest thing to do. However, now that you have seen this, you must remember what you have seen as I cannot show it to you again, and you must not reveal these things to anyone as of now. Only tell Noll and the others what you saw in this dream, when the time comes, that is, when they need this information. I'll keep coming back to your dreams and showing you more clues to solving your case. So until the next time, goodbye." _He started distancing himself from her and his presence was growing fainter and fainter by the moment. _Mai was about to wake up from her dream. _

"Wait up Gene! There are still many things I need to ask you! Don't just run away on me like that!" She cried.

"_I'll be back Mai… Though it's not really safe for you to be having clairvoyant trances very frequently, I will return to you soon. You can ask me those questions of yours at that time…." _And with that, he completely disappeared.

With Eugene's disappearance, the images which were previously encircling Mai, had now disappeared. She was in a _completely empty _space, which was pitch black. She felt a weird sensation, as though someone was trying to reach out to her, but their voice was not quite reaching. Mai closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the voice calling out to her. A _very familiar_ male voice…

**NARU!**

Was Naru trying to wake her up?

Trying to wake up _herself_, she suddenly felt as if she had let go of her breath, and there was a void inside of her. She was no breathing anymore. She grasped her chest in pain, and felt her lungs contract. It was the most awful feeling. _What is happening to me?_

She felt as if she was no longer alive.

...

_**Mai….**_

_**Mai**_

_**Mai wake up!**_

Mai opened her eyes to reveal Naru's stoic face just above her's. The doors of Monk's car were open and she was lying inside, with everybody else standing outside, except Ayako, who was seated next to Mai. "Are you alright?" He asked emotionlessly in his monotonous voice. She sprang up from her seat, and with a _really red_ face, replied, "Oh, hi Naru! Ha-ha, what's the matter, why is everyone gathered outside Monk's car?"

"Hey kiddo, we just stopped to rest up, and when Ayako tried to wake you up to ask if you wanted anything to eat or something, you just wouldn't respond. We thought you had passed out or something. We were really worried about ya kid. What happened?" Monk asked. It was clearly evident on, not just his face, but everyone else's (including Masako), that they were really worried. Mai got out from the car, and stretched her arms a bit. Then, she continued, "I was just having a silly little nightmare guys! That's all. There is no need to worry, I'm fine." Mai knew that this little 'explanation' of her's wasn't really convincing. Well, she really couldn't think of good excuses while being under the scrutinizing gaze of so many of her friends, _especially __**Naru.**_

Naru once again faced towards her and said, "How do you explain this as a silly little nightmare Mai? We were trying to wake you up for 12 minutes now." He sounded a little strange, since his voice tone was a little different from usual. _**Could he be worried about me? No way… In your dreams, Mai…**_Mai chuckled at the irony of her thoughts.

John walked up to her and said, "Are you sure you're alright mate? I mean you were out of it for a while… Would you like us to call a doctor?" Mai gave a warm smile at his politeness. Somehow, he is always kind and humble to everyone in all kinds of situations.

Just then, Ayako got out of the car, and proudly proclaimed, "There is no need to call a doctor when she is already present here, John. I can do a check up on Mai right here, right now- Assuming that you guys want me to do one."

"No thanks Ayako. I really do appreciate your concern and I am sorry for making you guys worry, but seriously, I completely ok now. It was just a dream I was finding hard to wake up from. That's it, really." Mai said in a somewhat convincing tone.

"Well now that this matter is sorted, why don't we get ourselves something to eat? The cafeteria at this petrol pump won't be open forever you know." said Yasu. Everybody agreed and followed him to the cafeteria. After a while, Lin even checked on Mai to know how she was feeling. But there was someone in the group who sensed something fishy in Mai's explanation. It was none other than, _Masako_.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

So how did you guys like the second chapter?

Any errors?

Characters are OOC?

Please review and let me know about your thoughts on the story.

Thanks!

Ps: What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter! Will Masako confront Mai about why she lied? And how did Eugene get Mai into a "_**clairvoyant trance". **_Shouldn't he have gone from her life forever? And what is their case actually about?

Find out, only on 'An Unhinged Nightmare' ©!


End file.
